Developers of computer applications for power systems are often tasked with creating programs to monitor the system and expedite the restoration of power in the event of a fault. The computer applications must also keep energy efficiency and conservation in mind. When coding new programs, developers often find themselves creating the basic framework of the applications repeatedly for each new program.
The computer applications developed for utility companies that monitor power distribution network status are geared toward preventing fault events and quickly restoring power when fault events do occur in order to prevent interruption of service to power consumers. However, even with the use of existing computer applications, it is often difficult for power service technicians to pinpoint the exact location of the fault or equipment in need of service without traveling to or communicating with the utility's network control center (NCC).
The NCC typically has several large screens showing real-time single line diagrams of the network status. Single line diagrams show elements on the network such as source, load, and devices such as transformers, circuit breakers, switchgear, re-closers, switches, and sensors. In the event that devices on the distribution network require servicing or maintenance, the NCC will generate a service ticket and dispatch the ticket to the appropriate utility personnel.
When utility personnel are performing maintenance in a location remote from the NCC, utility personnel contact the NCC to determine whether the devices are offline, energized, or require maintenance. Additionally, utility personnel call the control room to deactivate the devices prior to performing maintenance or activate the devices once the maintenance has been completed. Utility personnel are not alerted automatically or directly of the status or location of devices requiring service on the network.
Another difficulty that utility companies face is frequent replacement of equipment such as fault current indicators (FCIs) and other sensors on the grid in response to changing predicted or actual load profile values, environmental conditions, and neighboring devices on the electrical grid. To remedy the aforementioned problems, existing equipment having un-modifiable parameters is often replaced with new equipment that has the desired, but also un-modifiable, parameters.